Wake surfing is a water sport in which a rider is towed behind a watercraft on a specialized surf board, and surfs on the wave or wake which is formed behind the watercraft. As a watercraft travels through water it displaces the water and generates waves including a bow wave and diverging stern waves on both sides of the watercraft. Due to pressure differences, these waves generally converge in the hollow formed behind the traveling watercraft and/or interfere with each other to form a wake behind the watercraft. Such a wake, however, is generally small, choppy or too close to the watercraft to be suitable and/or safe for water sports, and particularly not suitable for wake surfing.
In the past, ballast, such as lead weights, concrete, or other heavy objects have been placed in different sections of the watercraft to weight the craft down and create a larger wake. In general, the best weight configuration for wake surfing was to place the majority of the weight near the back corner of the watercraft at the side on which the rider will surf. Greater ballast weight forced the watercraft deeper in the water and created a bigger wake. Further, forcing one side of the watercraft deeper in the water enhanced one stern wave while reducing the opposite stern wave, leading to a larger wake with a higher and more sustainable peak. The amount of ballast weight required to form a wake sufficient for wake surfing could be hundreds, and even thousands, of pounds. This weight was not only difficult to maneuver, but also occupied a significant amount of prime space on the watercraft.
More recent attempts to facilitate wake surfing have included the use of trim tabs. Trim tabs, originally designed to adjust the trim of a watercraft, have been used to purposefully modify the wake of a watercraft. Trim tabs may be used to increase the displacement of one side of the watercraft into the water, thus increasing the size of the wake on the side of the watercraft with the increased displacement. While trim tabs have been useful for producing a wake, typically the wake does not provide enough surfable area for the rider.
Current solutions include watercraft having retractable devices integrated on the transom, or port or starboard sides near the stern of the watercraft, which may be pivoted from a retracted position which lies flush with a side of the watercraft to a deployed position which places the device out into the passing water. In the deployed position, the device redirects the water to increase the surfable area of the wake formed by the watercraft, and produces a wake with a higher and more sustainable peak. Such solutions, however, require the purchase of a new watercraft specifically designed for wake surfing.